Food items spoil or become damaged when not properly stored. Storage by freezing extends life of food items, but freezer burn diminishes the quality of the frozen food items. The condition of freezer burn generally results from air present in a package of food upon storage or storage of food in non-airtight containers. Food not frozen may also spoil due, in part, to exposure to air, particularly oxygen. Such spoilage represents significant consumer waste and can be avoided by storing the food items in a vacuum sealed container, thereby limiting the food items' exposure to the air.
The quality of stored items may also be greatly diminished if they are damaged during storage. Often during movement of the container and its contents from one place or position to another, the items are moved about inside the container. The items may collide against each other and the walls of the container causing parts of the items to break off or to bruise.
While containers are known which allow a vacuum to be present in the container, these containers do not eliminate the space between the stored items and the lid. As the container as a whole is moved, the contents are also able to move about the inside of the container hitting against each other, the walls, and the lid. Such movement can damage the items, breaking off parts of the items and bruising portions. Such damage degrades the appearance and quality of the food and may increase the amount wasted.
A means readily available and reliable to consumers to create an essentially complete or complete vacuum in a storage container while simultaneously serving to immobilize the stored items is desirable. Ultimately, the packages in the prior art fail to teach a storage container in which a consumer is able to pack and protect items in a storage container using a readily available vacuum suction device.